Peter and I are moving to Princeton NJ, sight unseen. The closest I’ve been to NJ is Philadelphia, and I don’t think Peter’s been even that close.
So, anything we need to know? What’s the state of public transit? What’s the climate like (we’ve never lived on the east coast)? Is Princeton a fun town? Which outlying city should we live in, since we can’t afford housing in Princeton itself?
What aren’t the websites telling us?
One of the problems with New Jersey is that so many parts of it are unlike the rest of the state. For example, if you go to the northern portion of the state, you find a lot of industry and cities, and if you go toward the southern half, you find more farms and rural areas. So you’ll get a lot of different answers to your question, since there are so many different areas within the two halves (beach, woods, mountains, cities, farms, and so on).
The climate is temperate. The summers can get very hot and humid, and the winters can get very cold. In NJ, you’ll get it all - freezing rain, snow, thunderstorms, hurricanes, sleet, hail, you name it. There have even been some reports of tornados, although they’re certainly not as widespread as in other areas of the country.
The summer temps can get into the 100s, but rarely. In July and August, you’ll see a lot of 90+ days, and since the humidity is so high, you’ll want to stay indoors, probably. Not sure where you’re coming from, so I don’t know if this is gonna be radically different from what you’re used to.
One thing to look out for that I’ve noticed this year during my last visit (I lived there for 30 years). Many years ago, NJ was invaded by gypsy moth caterpillars. These little bastards are tiny - a couple centimeters - but they’ll eat all of your trees’ leaves. Their last invasion decimated a lot of forestry, mainly because there were so darn many of them. So just a heads up to you for that.
Depending on where you wind up living, public transportation can be feast or famine. If you’re in a city, such as Princeton or Trenton, you will certainly be far better off than if you were in the hinterland, as I was. As with anywhere in the country, the further away from the metropolis you get, the less likely you’ll find good transportation. It’s not as if, contrary to popular opinion, NJ is completely accessible via train or bus from top to bottom, as there are a zillion places that have never seen either form of transportation. During the time I lived there, I used the train maybe three times.
Also, NJ is the most densely populated state, so expect to see a lot of people. And the more people there are, the shorter fuses can be. So don’t get put off if people seem rude; they’re just being themselves! 
Also, car insurance is incredibly high, due in no small part to the amount of people crammed into such a tiny state. If you’re getting new insurance, be aware that it’s mandatory and expensive. Also, companies such as Geico won’t even carry you if you’re a NJ resident.
Whew. Good luck! Wish I had more info for you.
Carry plenty of change or get an EZ-Pass. The tolls on major highways, and on any attempt to escape the state (i.e., the bridges to NY, PA or DE) are ubiquitous.
The Princeton area is nice – both Pepper Mill and I grew up near there. I don’t know where you’re from, but the weather is nice – much like New York City. It gets warmer noticeably earlier in the year than in New England.
Princeton has the University, of course, and students, so downtown is boutique heaven. Lots of bookstores, the Princeton Playhouse (or is it the Garden? I can’t remember) movie theater. Peppermill Playhouse is not too far away. For shopping you’re not far from Route 1, with Quakerbridge Mall and other shopping centers.
You’ll need a car. But if you want to go to Philadelphia or New York you can take the bus (Suburban Transit Corp.) or the Train right into the city.
Lots of historic stuff in the area – Princeton Battlefield, Princeton University itself (Nassau Hall is pre-Revolutionary), Washington Crossing State Park, Rockingham (one of the places where George Washington really Did Sleep). Grover’s Mill (where the Martians Landed in 1938), the Gravesite of Elsie the Cow (see http://www.roadsideamerica.com ). You’re within driving distance of a lot of other things – the Jersey Shore is one about an hour away. Or Great Adventure/Six Flags, or Atlantic City gambling.
The countryside around Princeton used to be mostly farms and dairies. It has gotten pretty built up, especially in the last ten years. A lot of farms and orchards are gone, replaced by corporate business parks or gargantuan corporate spreads.
I hear that Montgomery is pretty chique.
I don’t know much about Princeton in particular, since I’ve never been there. New Jersey as a whole is a state that does the suburb very well. It’s lousy at cities; those are pretty much all blighted (Newark, Camden, Trenton, etc.), but the suburbs are nice enough.
Transportation-wise, I know very little about what buses are available (check out http://www.njtransit.com), but Princeton is on an offshoot of the Northeast Corridor train line. New Jersey Transit is pretty cheap, clean, and on time. It’s about an hour and a half to Penn Station in New York, and probably an hour (switching to a SEPTA train in Trenton) to Philadelphia. Otherwise, it’s New Jersey, it’s the suburbs, and you need a car (I’m not sure how long it’d take you to drive to either city). Although people don’t really ask each other where they live by “what exit”, the steriotype exists for a reason - you need to drive to get anywhere.
Princeton itself isn’t really one town. People so want the address of Princeton that a bunch of little towns are named with some variation on it (Princeton Township, Princeton, Princeton Junction, etc.).
I lived in that area a few years ago. There’s public transportation to NY and Philly, but nowhere else. Someone in an earlier post mentioned tolls on the highways. You only need to pay tolls on the Garden State Parkway and some of the other highways in the eastern part of the state. Princeton is nowhere near the toll roads. You would only need to pay tolls if you went to the Jersey Shore or to the city.
Princeton itself is beautiful, though it is very expensive to live there. I would often ride my bike down to Princeton for the day on one of the canal trails. The area around Princeton is pretty rural. Nice for outdoor activities, but kind of in the middle of nowhere.
I lived in Somerville about 20-30 minutes north of Princeton (45 minutes by bicycle). It also has public transportation to NY and Philly. It was OK but not much to do there. It is quite a bit more affordable than Princeton, however, and there are lots of nice houses. The next town over is Raritan. It is also inexpensive, but also a bit dull.
If you are looking for excitement, try New Hope, PA or Lambertville, NJ. That’s only about 20 minutes from Princeton. These towns are across the Deleware River from each other. A two lane bridge connects both towns and you can walk or drive back and forth freely. Lambertville has lots of little eclectic restaurants and antique shops. New Hope is a wild town. There are lots of outside bars and restaurants, live music, shopping, theatre, and lots of young people. In the summer you see lots of tatoos, piercings, Harley Davidsons, and leather. There is also a fairly large gay population but somehow everyone seems to get along.
There is also New Brunswick (home of Rutgers University). There is lots to do there because of the university, but there are some dicey neighborhoods.
Wish I could be more help here, because I used to live in the area. But everything I could say would be based on 18-year old memories of the area through the eyes of a 10-year old. Still, it’s nice to see some of the old place names I’m familiar with in this thread.
The one thing you should know about New Jersey is how to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. 
-Dave, a Pennsylvania resident 
I’ve lived here going on twenty years. The weather in unpredictable.I’ve seen winters with tons of snow and some with no snow. I’ve seen snow in November and snow in April,
on a day when the previous day’s high was 70 degrees. Last year, they paved the street outside my house in April, on a day when it got to 87!! It rains a lot some winters–cold, wet rain that is just plain nasty. Winter this year went into April, then May 1 - 4 set record highs in the 80’s and 90’s. One year, a day in February hit 92.
On the plus side, the proximity to NYC is GREAT!
Go see the pine barrens. Take a compass.
Most of the towns near Princeton can be quite expensive to live in these days. When I was growing up there the taxes in West Windsor were almost non-existent. Now the taxes are outrageously high. You might want to try Hightstown, about 10 miles east of Princeton,or Freehold, about 25miles away.
You may even want to look into living across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. I know that a lot of people put N.J. down, but I’ve been up in MA for almost 10 years now and I still miss it a lot. It may just be because most of my family are still there. I do reccommend that while you are there you go to the Philadelphia Zoo,(the oldest in the country) and Cape May. Seaside is a great honky-tonk kind of place. I’ve never been to Wildwood but I hear that it’s good. And of course if you like to gamble there is aways A.C. Good luck with your move!
I live in the southern part of the state, and the public transportation is great - cheap, and you can get about anywhere. I guess the options are more limited in the northern half, from reading other replies…
I’ve only been to princeton once, last year, and I thought the areas surrounding it were extremely pituresque…
but I guess that doesn’t help much, huh
dantheman is right about the climate - cold and snowy in winter; hot, humid and very icky in the summer.
man, I’ve lived in this state my whole life and can’t even think of anything to say…
This thread’s making me wanna move back! (And I’ve only been gone 8 months.)
Let me add some things about the NJ beaches, too, since we’ve covered some aspects of the Princeton area.
You’ll find that the summers are hot and sticky. So what billions do is to head for the beaches. But don’t worry, there are plenty to go around! Some of them, like Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, and Ocean City (to name but a few) have boardwalks, and they are GREAT places to go for an evening or a weekend or a week of fun. The thing is, there are beaches that won’t be a long, long drive for you. I don’t have the map in front of me, but I’m sure there are some that are 45 min - 1 hr away.
Anyway, as was mentioned, there’s Atlantic City, with its gambling and such. If you want a nice, clean town for your beachgoing activities, I recommend Ocean City. (Oh, and the rates aren’t too bad for a week’s stay, if that’s your game!) What I used to do was drive for an hour to get to the beach on a warm summer night and just walk the boardwalk, which is full of shops, arcades, etc. Was a lot of fun and relaxing.
Also, if you ever make it to Seaside Heights, NJ, they have (after the Fourth of July) a fireworks display EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT at 9pm. Again, mucho fun.
And make sure you have a full tank of gas- it be weird down there.
Suo- Email me when you move here- I live a few miles up Rt1 from Princeton.
Sea Isle City is nicer and cleaner than OC, but the boardwalk isn’t much fun. If you’re just going for the beach, Sea Isle gets my recommendation…
It can indeed get weird, but it’s about as close to good ol’ American outdoors fun as you’ll get in NJ.
In Burlington County, there’s a cool place called Apple Pie Hill. It’s not a big hill by anyone’s standard, but what it IS is a fun hike. Want to take a walk in the woods and get somewhere but don’t want to spend days and days in the deep, dark forest? Go there. You can hike to the top of the hill in an hour or so, and at the top there’s this fire tower that you can climb up. And when you do, man - you can see for zillions of miles. It’s a pretty sight. Then you climb down.
The Ramones hail from there.